MLB Game Picks - Monday: July 7, 2014

I am writing this post on Sunday night as Monday is a travel day for us as we leave Florida and head for Maine. :::sigh::: All good things come to an end, including vacation. And our travel day happens also to be my mom's 89th birthday. That's pretty cold, us leaving on her birthday. Not very good planning.

Since I am writing this early, the final tally for Sunday's games are not in. I have at least eleven correct picks for the day with the rest not looking too good. So Sunday is going to be a good picking day even though the Game of the Day pick is already wrong.

Say a prayer for us for safe travels, won't you?  Monday's picks:

• The Nationals over the Orioles: The Nats have played the Orioles sixteen times in the last several years and are only 6-10 against them, so that is the bad news. The good news is that Stephen Strasburg is on the mound and is better at home. The Nats being home also gives the O's one less bat in the lineup. Chris Tillman goes for the Orioles.
• The Braves over the Mets: Both teams are playing well. The Mets just destroyed the Rangers over the weekend. The Braves have won, what, ten straight? Ten has been the magic number for ending winning steaks. But I like Mike Minor over Daisuke Matsuzaka.
• The Red Sox over the White Sox: Except for the blown save on Saturday, the White Sox had a good weekend against the Mariners. But Scott Carroll is not going to pitch like Hector Noesi (which sounds really weird to say) and Clay Buchholz looks good since he's been back from the DL.
• The Reds over the Cubs: The Reds seem to stumble a lot against the Cubs and who ever knows how Edwin Jackson is going to pitch. I am going to go with Mike Leake who has been going well and is on my fantasy team.
• The Royals over the Rays: This is probably a stupid pick because the Royals NEVER win when you think they will win. They are the bane of my existence as a game picker. I cannot even imagine how hard it is to be their fan. Anyway, James Shields over Jake Odorizzi.
• The Indians over the Yankees: The Yankees are going to call up Shane Greene to start the game (according to ESPN.com). Greene is not a prospect. He has allowed over ten hits per nine innings in both of his last two years in the minors and this year his control has not been good. Justin Masterson is a much better pick.
• The Astros over the Rangers: The Astros haven't won in a while and seem due. Jarred Cosart is a good talent and Miles Mikolas sounds more like a Tolkien elf name than a baseball player name. Hey, that's how I roll.
• The Brewers over the Phillies: Yes, Cole Hamels is pitching and yes, he is a good pitcher. But his winning percentage the last two years says it all about how the team plays behind him. Marco Estrada seems a better pick at home.
• The Cardinals over the Pirates: Charlie Morton sure is confusing. He has raised his strikeout rate, but also his walk rate. He has given up less hits per inning but his FIP is slightly higher than last year. He is just a middle-of-the-road, league average pitcher. Adam Wainwright is anything but that description.
• The Rockies over the Padres: Ian Kennedy has a 2.88 FIP, which is hard to believe. He has also fared pretty well at Coors field in his seven career starts there. But I have to believe the Rockies win this one even if I am a bit concerned by Tyler Matzek pitching. At least he is a lefty, which sits Seth Smith.
• The Marlins over the Diamondbacks: Tom Koehler is back from maternity leave. So he should be feeling good about life. Though he is pitching away from his home park, I think he will do okay and be better than Chase Anderson.
• The Athletics over the Giants: Eric Chavez has been awful lately. So why am I picking the A's to win? Because I just dropped Chavez from my fantasy team which guarantees that he will have a great performance. Ryan Vogelsong goes for the Giants.
• The Angels over the Blue Jays: I was going to pick the Jays because J.A. Happ has had such a good year. But then I remembered that Edwin Encarnacion will be out and those Angels hitters are pretty darned good. Jered Weaver has to keep the ball in the park.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Mariners over the Twins: Kevin Correia should be a home run derby batting practice pitcher. Too harsh? Yeah, sorry. Probably. But it's not far from the truth. Hisashi Iwakuma should take care of the Twins.

Yesterday: 11-4, July: 54-31, Games of the Day: 49-43, Season: 736-606

I did after all get the final results.